TUT #37: UX Resume Tips, 2018 Remote Work Report and Is the Party Over for UX?

A DESIGNER’S JOURNEY INTO FACEBOOK DESIGN
Garron Engstrom writes a detailed account of how he started at Mitchell International, then Intuit, and finding his way into Facebook Design. Some great thoughts about being a generalist versus specialized designer:

Highlight: “What is your dream company? Find out about their hiring practices. Do they hire specialists or generalists? Whatever it is, become that. Continue honing your single, core competency, or work on broadening your tool set.”

REMOTE WORK 2018 REPORT
Remote Year and And.co put together a study on remote working trends. Some fascinating new stats on being a digital nomad, from salary trends to real life pros & cons of working on the road. Surprisingly, out of the 3000+ people polled, most do not “travel around” while they work, preferring to stay in one place.

Highlight: “While 7% of workers who’ve been remote for under a year earn over 100k, this number jumps to 18% for those who’ve worked remotely for 7 years or more. US-based remote workers were more likely to earn six figures than international remote workers (14% vs 8%).”

SKILL CHARTS IN PORTFOLIO – YAY OR NAY?Good discussion on whether to visualize skills in a resume or portfolio using charts and bars. My personal opinion? Usually skill bars take up a lot of space, and can be communicated just as well in a simple list, and this StackExchange user agrees:

Highlight: “If you want to show it in a CV, I’d suggest you put in a ‘Tool’ section, and just quote the tool names.”

IS THE PARTY OVER FOR UX?
I have to admit – reading this article is like getting a wake-up slap in the face. A discussion of long term UX market trends that don’t look so positive, with a lot of emphasis turning to product design and specialized roles in advanced technology. But to play devil’s advocate, the skillset required between UX and product design overlap so much that I think any necessary transition will be an easy one.

Highlight: “Whether it’s machine learning, voice design, blockchain, AR/VR, etc., more and more companies will be venturing and exploring emerging tech. The market will start asking and demanding skills that UX can’t bridge. Not even the recent revival of the design/developer role in UX will suffice.”

RESUMES OF CURRENT FACEBOOK DESIGNERS
I promise Facebook is not paying me for this newsletter, but their caliber for design is high, and make a good reference for other designers gunning for top companies. Bestfolio curated 8 resumes of current Facebook designers, and there are the core observations I noticed:

Highlight: Almost all the resumes, visually, are minimalist and exhibit great typography and readability. Almost none of the resumes use visualized skill bars. The most surprisingly difference is in amount of content in the bullet points; those with less content tend to rely on brand names to carry weight, whereas others resumes with less brand power will dig deeper on projects and results achieved.

🏁UX CAREER COACHING CORNER
Here’s my short little rant: don’t call yourself a junior designer. Even if you feel junior or lack experience, trust me – no one will object if you just leave out “junior” and just use the regular title of “UX Designer” or “Product Designer” on your resume. This saves you from being unfairly discounted, and is a good base from which to apply to other mid-level positions.